Zinfandel: Sweet Misery
by Colonel Karl L Schubaltz
Summary: **Aethelwulf/Karl YAOI** Immortality is sometimes considered the ULTIMATE angstburger...


  
  
  


**His Sweet Misery**  
_Written by Col. Karl L Schubaltz_

  
  
  
  
Author's Notes: _Karl Lichen Schubaltz and any Zoids characters does NOT belong to me. (I wish though!) BUT however, The Imperial Black Knight, Leon Aethelwulf does. Hands off! Mine!!!_   
_This is a long, angsty account of how Karl and Leon became an item. Takes place during the days between Chaotic Century and Guardian Force... I'd say midpoint. Sometimes, my little greenhorn, immortality is the ULTIMATE angstburger.... *pause* ...seconds?_   
  
  
Approriate Quotes for the fic   


_"You are always new. The last of your kisses was ever the sweetest"_  
**--John Keats**

  
  
  


_"Some nights are made for torture, or reflection or the savoring of loneliness"_  
**--Poppy Z. Brite**  
  
  
  
_"Death and sorrow will be the companions of our journey, hardship our garment; constancy and valor our only shield. We must be united, we must be undaunted, we must be inflexable."_  
**--Winston Churchill**  
  
  
  
_"In the garden I was playing the tart  
I kissed your lips and broke your heart"_  
**--U2 "Until the End of the World"**  
  
  
  
_"A pleasure so exquisite as almost to amount ot pain."_  
**-- Leigh Hunt**

  
  
  
  
A slender hand grasped the ebony bottle, pouring the contents into a fine crystal glass. Red Merlot poured flowingly from the mouth of the bottle. The shower door opened, pouring forth hot steam, a trim, beautiful body slipped quietly into the spray. His wheat gold hair dampened, then was plastered on either side of his gorgeous face. His green eyes slowly opned, his fingers ran through his wet strands of wheat gold. Imperial officer dogtags rested against his breast, along with a golden locket bearing the aristocratic seal of Clan Schubaltz, which in short was 2 crowned wolfmen holding swords and the swords were crisscrossed in front of a crescant moon. In the middle of the crisscrossed swords was a star ruby, the wolves' eyes were fire opal. His body was flawless in every respect, making it a gem to anyone who was worthy of looking at it without the confines of apparell. His gemlike green eyes sparkled alluringly although they often gave cold, demeaning and undaunted stares in the face of his enemies. His lips, although pink, moist and pouty, often became chapped from shouting commands and inhaling desert air. When they were not unde extreme conditions, his lips were full and luscious. His hands also show another side to them during wartime. Fists of iron and steel turn to velvet at peacetime, giving whatever he held a featherlike touch. On one finger was a ring with the Guylos insignia, he was an officer of Guylos and he was Rudolph's most trusted and loyal. During wartime, he was cold as steel, hard as stone and uneasy to break. He's lead many to victory and sometimes to defeat, he's a veteran of combat. Bundled in his Iron Kong Mk-II, he's shown such strong will and sheer charisma, he was to Guylos a great warlord. Decorated and now a colonel under Rudolph's flag, he gladly enjoys his newfound rank. He didn't let anyone phase him, there was only one man who got under his skin and he was destroyed with the Death Saurer. With his fists of iron and marble, he's held guns and swords and the lives of many troops. He's never dropped either... not in the face of his enemies. Never in the face of his enemies. In peacetime and in civilian time, it all melts, the fists of iron becomes a touch of velvet. His hardened body and marble skin becomes finely painted delicate porcelain. This is when his body of coal becomes a precious diamond. In this time, he transforms into a totally different person. Wearing anything from next to nothing to exceptionally-tailored outfits, he throws down the mission logs and field reports to read Artist's Magazine, GQ and Oscar Wilde. Pampering his body anyway he can, he often sips fine chardonays and zinfandels slowly to savor the taste. On duty, stale coffee with expired cream was his drink of choice, and badly served MREs were his meat. His troopmates listened to everything from Pop to Rap, nails to a chalkboard to him, when the lovely gets home, the first thing to be put in his Beethoven to drown the crunching sounds of combat and bad music. Often, he soaks in bubblebaths and hot tubs, sometimes the swimming pool in the backyard. He's been the object of female affection in the neighborhood, girls flocked to see him swim in the buff. When he is at home, he is far from being a soldier in the Imperial army. In fact, it seems he's the exact opposite. The lovely blonde colonel lives an artist's life, composing things through his laptop or pen and paper or through oil paints and canvases. More often than not, it's gardening and botany, he's the expert at raising and growing rare black lilies. He's also been the object of male jealousy, because of his flawless beauty attracting women. But he was not interested in the opposite sex like his younger sibling is. A man this exquisite in design and personality _CANNOT_ be straight, heavens forbid....   
But this night, he will be the object of the affections of powerful forces.   
  
Turning the shower off with his slender hand, the effeminate colonel grabbed the towel off the rack and wrapped it around his slender waist. Taking the hairbrush in his hands, he sat on the fluffy bed and began brushing his hair. That's when he noticed a flaw in his perfection... "Split ends." He murmered defiantly, then continued to brush his hair. "I thought the shampoo was supposed to take care of that." Afterwards, he tossed the towel to the side, putting on a warm, clean button-up shirt. His fingers carressed the buttons as he put the shirt together. Walking to the balcony door to admire the moons, he took the fine crystal glass in his fingers and sipped the Merlot passionately. The warm Summer breeze blew through his wet strands of wheat, the light of the bedroom was the only light in the backyard. He was alone again this night, like every other night. News spread fast that his brother had been elected from Vaskuyard to enlist in the newly formed Guardian Force. He was proud of his brother, it showed in his delicate expression when he heard the news. When it came to Thomas and his achievements, it is insanely hard to hide the smiles of pride. The lovely colonel gazed longingly at the moons before the sky showed to him a shooting star. "Look at that.... hmmm... I'm supposed to make a wish, ain't I?" He set the glass down long enough to think to himself, but the responce is what shocked him. In his mind, he heard a beautiful male voice speak to him with such poetry. //Granted...// He stood up off the ground to see someone emerge from the shadows of the backyard, looking straight up at him from the first floor. The man was unearthly handsome, he had short, shiny slate-blue hair that covered some of that insanely gorgeous face. His eyes were exotic in shape and in beauty, shining like fine amethysts. He wore the unmistaken black uniform of a powerful leader of the Imperial forces, he was none other than Guylos's _Imperial Black Knight_. His glasses were barely seen even with the light and the moonlight. He stepped closer to the patio, still looking up at the beauty on the balcony. They were gazing in each other's eyes, through his mind, the Imperial colonel wondered why such a powerful man has any interest in someone like him. "May I help you?" The blonde finally spoke, his voice a little shaky. "I heard your wish, I came here to grant it." "But why? You're the Black Knight, the secret and ultimate defender of the Crown. Shouldn't your loyalty be directed toward protecting Rudolph?" "Why aren't you either? You're in the same line of work I am." The dark one has a point, the blonde entered the bedroom. A few minutes later, the patio slid open, giving the Black Knight entry into his inamorata's humble abode. He took off his uniform hat and ran his fingers through his fine, silky strands of slate-blue hair. "May I interest you in something to drink, Sir Aethelwulf? Chardonnay? Champagne? Zinfandel?" "Guylos Burgundy, vintage if you can." The Black Knight remained standing, watching the blonde enter the kitchen. "I am sorry I am not in uniform or in anyway presentable." "It's perfectly fine, Colonel Schubaltz." He responded, his mind's eye watching his host. "I'm a civilian right now..." He walked in slowly, carrying a crystal glass of Burgundy, he handed it to his guest. "Call me Karl." "Very well... I'm on leave, call me Leon." "Take off your jacket, stay a while. Let's sit by the fire." Leon took off his jacket, then his shirt, revealing to Karl his own body. Leon's body was muscular, he was a powerful warrior and it showed. His body maintained a honeydew complexion, his nipples were darker shade of salmon. Leon's powerful arms had a few knicks and scars from life as a Knight and as something else entirely. They sat down together by the fire, Karl and Leon toasted each other before sipping their glasses slowly. "Why did you stop by anyway?" Karl asked with a firelight twinkle in his green hues. "I came here to talk to you anyway..." Leon set the glass down and slid his glasses off his face, setting them on the table nearby. "You see, it is very hard for me to confess or speak how I feel about certain people... It's not because I am shy, I am far from being a schoolboy." "I heard you were not as you seem." Karl carefully set his glass down, very careful not to spill the contents against his white carpet. "Karl, I'm over 15,000 years old, I am immortal." Leon leaned forward, a tuft of his slate-blue hair touched his face delicately. "I cannot tell anyone how I feel because I will watch them all die 60 years from that point. I hate that life, but it's what I have to endure for myself for reaching True Ascension." "Ascension? Y-you... you're a mage." "Yes, I am an Exemplar also." Karl didn't blink, the emotions in his elegant green eyes were of understanding and compassion. His slender hands slid up Leon's muscular arms, their gaze met lovingly. Karl could read it in Leon's indigo eyes that he was strongly feeling something for him. Even with immortality, Leon's eyes never grew a distant gaze, his lust for virtue and honor has kept him strong. "Leon, you have every right as everyone else to love someone, even for small periods of your eternal life." "I love you, Karl. I always had since the moment you walked into the Zeppellin courtyard as a Lieutenant... I had watched you from afar, and I did nothing and said nothing. I am afraid that once I said this, I'd lose you to mortality. Betrayal and deceit doesn't hurt me anymore as much as mortality does." "L-leon..." Karl's green eyes glittered, his grip on Leon's strong arms loosened, he slid his hands upward onto Leon's broad shoulders. Then up his neck until they stroked his handsome jaw. Leaning forward, almost throwing himself into Leon's lap, Karl's pouty, Merlot-flavored lips touched Leon's. The Imperial Knight's hands slid on Karl's back, pulling him close, his hands gripped the fine white shirt. The blonde lovely's elegant fingers slid through and meshed in Leon's grayish-blue hair, their kiss got deeper and more lustful. In front of the quaint yet fashionable red brick fireplace, the two Imperial Warriors had sex, their bodies entwined in the heat of passion.   
  
Leon was the only one who was awake, staring at the fireplace as the embers began to die with time. Karl was asleep on the couch, using only his white shirt as a blanket. He was wearing his black pants, his decorated uniform jacket was slumped on his back and on his shoulders. His arms were resting on his knees, his thin wire framed glasses hung low on his dainty nose. A cigarette was nestled between his fingers, lit and needing its' ashes to be flicked off right away. Leon took another short drag of the smoke and breathed out the exhale. In the wispy grey smoke, the word 'Karl' was spelled before it disapated. //Love... for millenia, that word had no meaning to me. What makes him different than most mortals?// Leon's indigo eyes narrowed dangerously, the fire's light picked up again, illuminating the room. The fire had picked up again, commanded soley on Leon's power. There were no other source to fuel the fire, the wood was ashen and useless. //What makes Karl Schubaltz so different? Why?? Even my powers, my magic cannot see this. It must be fate, none other has the power to grant me things and be this elusive with their motives... But he is just a mortal, he'll die in 60 years like all meat sacks. He is no different... he is...// Leon put the cigarette to his lips and went to inhale the smoke, then something stopped him. //The Hands of Fate have their motives for bringing me to Karl. I shouldn't question them. I will admit, Karl has stolen my heart since he entered Zeppellin's courtyard those years ago. He's been the first one and hopefully, he'll be the last.//   
  
  
  


**-CONTINUED-**


End file.
